Thursday's Daily Pulse

What you need to know about Florida today

| 7/31/2014

A More Vigorous US Economy Appears to Be Emerging

The U.S. economy has rebounded with vigor from a grim start to 2014 and should show renewed strength into next year. That was the general view of analysts Wednesday after the government estimated that the economy grew at a fast 4 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter. More from the AP, USA Today, and McClatchy.

Florida Trend Exclusive Is Florida the corruption leader? It depends

Depending on how it’s measured, Florida is either No. 1, No. 13 or No. 26 when it comes to public corruption. Some notable cases: Manuel Marono in the Miami-Dade city of Sweetwater; the whole town of Hampton; and a slew of public officials in Palm Beach County. Access full article.

Study blames lost Florida calves on panthers

Since Florida's frontier days when cattlemen drove their herds through the state's vast fields and forests, ranchers and native panthers have been natural enemies. With Florida's panther population recovering, some farmers complain the protected 6-to-7-foot long predators are once again killing their calves. [Source: Florida Times-Union]

Retirement plan options for the small business and self-employed

According to the General Accounting Office, only 14 percent of small-business owners provide their employees with any company-sponsored retirement plan. This is a striking figure since more than 50 percent of the private workforce is employed by small businesses. [Source: Gainesville Business Report]

As Volunteerism explodes in popularity, who's it helping most?

It's called volunteer tourism or "volunteerism." And it's one of the fastest growing trends in travel today. More than 1.6 million volunteer tourists are spending about $2 billion each year. But some people who work in the industry are skeptical of volunteerism. [Source: NPR]

› FAU seeks entrepreneurs to create cybersecurity solutions[South Florida Business Journal] Florida Atlantic University is looking for entrepreneurs to dream up cybersecurity solutions. With recent data breaches at Target and Neiman Marcus getting consumers’ attention, the university hopes to help companies prevent leaks.

› ‘Pot Trucks’ On Tap In Florida?[CBSMiami] Health regulators have proposed a revised rule which could allow Florida pot dispensers to truck their products to the patients.